"I got really lucky (tee time) because I think the R&A was really worried about the scores going too low and there are some really funky pin placements," Mickelson sayd. "They used some funny spots and about one third of every green has just died it's so brown. I hit two perfect shots on 18, left it in the exact spot I wanted to leave it and I just kind of lagged it still went way by. I got really lucky to play early because I at least had a fighting chance.

"As I played more on links golf I realized that angles were the most important part of playing links golf. I was always able to take angles out of play in America by playing over the trouble and getting it to stop. 60-degree wedge. Links golf required more of a thought process. It took me a while to really learn it and appreciate it.

"I don't see anyone in the afternoon with a realistic chance (shooting low). It's a little overdone. I feel bad for these guys who have to go out and play it. There is a distinct disadvantage. Luck is always a factor but it this shouldn't have been a factor. The weather didn't come here. It's fine, its just the way it was presented."

Muirfield has been firm and fast since the weekend, with dry conditions in the forecast for the rest of the week. The R&A was turning on sprinklers for a brief time in the evening to keep the speed of the course from getting out of control.

R&A chief executive Peter Dawson saw no problem with the course.

"We have the conditions here we really like to have — hard, fast, running conditions — and we've set up the course to test the players' course management strategy as much as anything," Dawson said on the BBC. "It is part of the links courses defenses in this type of weather."

Johnson said he was "shocked with a couple of pin placements," citing Nos. 13 and 17.

"The fairways are rolling just as fast as the greens," Johnson said. "Two-putting from essentially 15 feet and beyond, it's got your attention."

Ian Poulter (72) sounded off on Twitter: "Unfortunately the guys this afternoon will struggle with a few pin positions. 8th hole is a joke, 18th needs a windmill & clown face."

The struggles continued for Rory McIlroy, who played with Mickelson. He opened with an 8-over 79.